Method and means of operating airlines



July 1, 1930.

\ A. H. G. FOKKER METi-IOD AND MEANS OF OPERATING AIRLINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1928 July 1, 1930. A. H. G. FOKKER METHOD AND MEANS OF OPERATING AIRLINES Filed Sept. 27, 1923 Z'Sheets-Sheet 2 1a., J/ f? ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1930 ANTHONY H. G. IEOKKER, OF TENAFLY, NEW JERSEY METHOD AND MEANS OF OPERATING- AIRLINES r Application filed September 27, 1928. Serial No. 308,815.

a facilitating the embarlration and discharge of passengersat airports, as the terminals and intermediate stations of airlines, and for controlling the movement of the passengers to and from the airplane, so as to 10 safeguard them from the possibility of accident. r

As is well known, at airports where passengers are taken on and discharged from airplanes, there is no provision made for l5 expediting the handling of the passengers, in the manner customarily followed by other transportation agencies, the craft usually being lined up in the open field, frequently at a considerable distance from the hangars, where they are surrounded by onlookers who crowd about the passengers and retard their progress to and from the craft. Further, there is no methodof controlling the movements of the passengers, or of the on- $5 lookers, upon the field or about the airplane,

and, in many instances, serious and usually fatal injuries have resulted from persons attempting 'to passin front of a moving plane, or from coming in contact with a revolving propeller of a craft at rest upon the field. Insome cases, portions of the field at an airport, have been roped off, but,

at best, this is nothingmorethan a make shift effort in the interestof safety. The ropes, whlch are usually tled to insecure stakes are soon overrun and conditions are no better than where such impractical safe- In other in guards are not employed. stances, attempts have been. made to reduce 40 large'force of watchmen to protect the aircraft and also the persons on the field, but

the danger of accident, by employing a taken, and, therefore, it is the generalob ject of this invention to provide a practical and efficient method and means of economically handling airplane passengers at airports, so as to safeguard them against the 5 possibility of accident during their embarkation and discharge from the craft.

More specifically, it is an'object of this invention to provide a means for facilitat ing the loading and unloading of an airso plane at anairport, by controlling the movement of the passengers toand from the craft, such controlled movement insuring the passengers against accidental or other contact with a revolving propeller of the plane. r p T It is also an object of my'invention, to provide a means for guiding an airplaneto a predetermined position for taking on or discharging passengers at an airport or landing field, whereby the work to be performed will be expedited and the operation of the craft'in landing or preparatory to taking off will not be interfered with by the usual onlookers.

' My invention further contemplates the provision of means which will serve to define the ground course or path which an airplane landing at anairport must follow to the point where its movement mustjbe arrested for unloading, or loading, as the case may be. I I

Another important object of my invention is the provision of means, as aforesaid, which will have a wide range of adjustabils5 ity in use, so that they may be utilized in conjunction with various types of aircraft, and eificiently respond to the diverse requirements of operation at different, airports or" landing fields. 1

c Other objects and advantages flowing from the practicing of my invention will become manifest as the description proceeds and I would have itunderstood that I reserve unto myself all rights to the full 95 range of equivalents, both in structure and in use, to which I may be entitled under my invention in itsbroadest aspect.

For the purpose of the present disclosure,

I have elected to illustrate and, describe cer-o tain preferred embodiments of my invention. However, this is not to be construed as a limitation of the scope of the invention, which, it will be obvious, may take other forms, within the purview of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawin s:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a practical embodiment of my invention, showing a passenger latform, with a fragment of a station building and the means for controlling the movement of the. passengers to and from the airplane, a part of the wing of which is broken away, disclosing the guideway for ra tii ure 2 is a front elevation of the station buil ing, with an airplane in position for loading or unloading, part of one of the passenger movement controlling devices beinji seen in elevation.

igure 3 isa side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 2, looking at the tail of. the airplane, showing the devices for controlling the movement of the passengers to fand'f'rom the plant, in functioning position,and V Figures 4 and5 are views similar to Figure 3,'showing modified constructions of the passenger movement controlling devices.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, in, which like characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts in the severa views, 7 indicates the station building which may be ofany suitable size and construction and may beiprovided with ticket oflices and the usual waiting and baggage rooms. A platform 8 is positioned in front of the station building 7 ,egress from the latter to the platform being had through a suitable passa eway 7 t The platform 8 may be constructzd of, any suitable material, such as concrete, wood or the like, preferably oblong in shape and of a length corresponding approximatelyto that of a predetermined section of an airplane, as and for the purposes which hereinafter will become apparent.

Eachof the-shorter sides .of the platform 8 isf rovided with suitable fencing extending rom the aforesaid station building 7 to the from end of the platform. This fencing, whichmay beof any preferred height, may include the posts 10 and 10 and the top an bottom rails 11 and12, connected by the uprights or fillers 13, and, if desired, Wire netting or a lattice structure may extend upwardly from the top rail 11 thereof, to a line at the level of ,the roof of the building 7.

Preferably hinged to the posts 10 and 10 respectively, for rotation through an arc of 90?, negate-forming sections of fencing 14 and 14, thesetwo sections, when in one of their two extreme positions, being adapted to meet and extend across the platform 8, in parallel with the front edge thereof, to

cooperate with the side fencing and the station buildingat the rear of the platform, to form an enclosure for the latter, with which communication may be had only through the aforesaid passageway 7*.

Now, as an airplane comes to rest in front of the platform 8, for loading or unloading, as the case may be, the aforesaid gate-forniing sections 14 and 14 are swung outwardly on their hinges to a position in which each, in effect, forms a physical continuation of the side fencing with which it is associated. their outer ends being sufiiciently close to the adjacent side of the airplane fuselage to prevent the passage of persons therebetween. Thus, a clearly defined lane is provided for the movement of the passengers between the station building and the cabin entrance of the craft. Obviously, suitable stops are provided to limit the outward movement of the gate sections 14 and 14, so that when they are extended toward the plane, they will be rigid enough to resist any pressure to which they may be subjected during the embarkation and discharge of passengers. Where it is desired, the outer ends of the sections 14 and 14 may be provided with fastening devices which will cooperate with elements which may be aflixed to the side of the air plane fuselage to lock the gate-forming sections thereto and prevent possible attempts at unauthorized passage between the endsof the gate sections and the fuselage. By the provision of the said gate-forming sections 14 and 14", movable as described, two purposes are served; Firstly, when the gates are closed, the intending passengers are prevented from leaving the platform 8 until the craft on which they are to embark is safely at rest in front of the station building and secondly, when they are open or extended, persons to andfrom the cabin of the craft are compelled to remain within the enclosure formed by the building 7, the side fencing and associated gate sections 14 and 14 and the sidev of the airplane contiguous to the outer ends of said sections. Thus,

interference with the activities of the crew about the ship is prevented and the passengers are safeguarded from the possibility of injury as the result of accidentally coming into contact with a revolving propeller, the danger'of accidents of the latter type being, obviously, greater in'multi-engine airplanes, where the engines are supported from the wing or otherwise, slightly in advance of theforward part of the cabin, than in craft: of the single motor design.

The length of the platform 8 in those cases where airplanes of a comparatively uniform fuselage length are loaded and unloaded, corresponds generally to the distance between a point slightly forward of the cabinentrance and a point just in advance of the tail surface, as shown in Figure 1, so that when the gate-forming sections are swung outwardly, the passengers will have ample room for moving about within the prescribed safety limits. here it is desired, or necessary, the passageway from the platform 8 to the cabin of the craft, as defined by the gate-forming sections 14.

and 14, may be slightly wider than the cabin entrance the ends of said sections meet ing the fuselage on either side of such entrance. For this purpose, or to provide for the accomodation of ships of different cabin and fuselage dimensions at a single loading and unloading station, the side fencing may be laterally adjustable along the platform 8, or such fencing may be fixed and the gateforming sections 14 and 14 may be rela tively adjustable, either wholly or in part, to provide an aisle or passageway of the requisite width between the platform and the airplane fuselage entrance. As an example, the spacing between the outer ends of the gate-sections 14 and in may be reduced by rotating them through a smaller arc than heretofore described, so that they will form an angle with their respective supporting fences on the platform 8, simulating the out line of a funnel, with the outlet at the cabin door of the craft, or said sections may comprise two or more units connected for relative movement to form a passenger guiding partition of any desired or required shape. Again, the gate-forming sections 14: and 1-4 may be longitudinally extensible, either of the folding type, shown in Figures 2 and 3, or with the telescoping members, as shown in Figure 4. This will admit of'the outer ends of said sections being disposed relatively close to, or in contact with, the airplane fuselage, to form a safety Zone, as heretofore described, in such cases where variations in the distance between the front of the platform and the aircraft might render non-extensible gate-forming sections inefiective for the purpose.

As a guide to the pilot in properly locating his craft at an airport station, the field adjacent to the loading and unloading platform 8, may be provided with suitable rails 15 and 16, which extend beyond either side thereof, as shown in Figure 1, for example. These rails, which may be in the form of concrete curbing set into the ground, or which may be wood or other material, otherwise fixed against dislodgment, are laterally spaced to provide for the passage of the wheels of the undercarriage of an airplane therebetween. The intermediate section of the rails, that is, those parts which are immediately in front of the platform, are preferably parallel, while the portions on either side of such section diverge or flare outwardly to facilitate entrance to exit from the guideway.

It will be manifest that the use of the rails 15 and 16 in conjunction with the plat form 8 and means cooperating with the platform enclosure and theairplane itself, as.

the sections 14 and 14 will enablea pilot to quickly and accurately locate his craft'in position for handling the embarkation and discharge of passengers in a manner which will assure a maximum of safety from possible so-called ground accidents which are now of frequentoccurrence at airports. Of"

course, in some instances, it may be necessary to dispense with the guideway provided by the rails 15 and 16, but this will not affect the attainment of the other objectives by the use of the media described.

Also, it will be evident that the several cooperating elements of my invention may be arranged otherwise than herein described and that in conjunction therewith separat ing partitions may be used to direct incoming and outgoing passengers along dlfferent paths, each of which may be protected in the manner indicated. For instance, the post 17 may be the forward end of a partition through the center of the platform 8, with a section of fencing hinged thereto which willcooperate with either of the sections 14; and 146. Thus, iffthe section 14: is'

functioning as a closure for the part of the platform to the leftof the central partition,

thefence section hinged to the post 17 may be swung outwardly in parallel with the similarly disposed section 14c and vice versa, it, of course, being understood that the aforesaid centrally located swingable section will be so mounted that it may be disposed in,

parallel with either of the gate-forming sections 14. and la when they are in platform closing position, as the gate section 14 in Figure 1.

I claim: 1. A loading and unloading station for airplanes at anairport, comprising a platform raised above the level of the ground the passenger opening in the fuselage of the airplane.

2. A loading and unloading station. for airplanes at an airport, comprising a platform raised above the level of the ground and including. a housing for passengers,

an enclosure for sa'idplatform embodying arcuately movable sections located at that portion of the platform before which an airplane isto, be brought to rest for load ing and unloading, said sections being longitudinally extensible beyond the limit of their: arouate movement in the direction of an airplane at rest in laterally spaced relationslnp to the aforesaid portion of said platform to enclose the ground space between the platform and the fuselage of the airplane.

3. A loading and unloading station for airplanes comprising a platform raised above the ground level and including a housin for passengers, a fence for shutting o ingress to and egress from said platform except through said housing, a portion of said fence being movable relatively to the remainder thereof outwardly of said platform and in the direction of an airplane at rest before said platform to permit passengers to pass to and fro between said platform and the airplane, said movable portion limiting the movement of the passengersto the aforesaid two directions.

,4. A loading and unloading station for airplanes comprising a platform raised above'the level of the ground, means laterally spaced from one edge of the platform to ide an airplane to a position which it sha assume relative to said platform for for embarking and disembarking passengers, an enclosure for said platform, normally preventing access thereto except from a portion remotefrom'the aforesaid edge, and means whereby portions of said enclosure abutting upon the aforesaid platform edge may be moved outwardly of said platform toextend the area of the enclosure to the side of an airplane in loading and unloading position before said platform.

5. A loading and unloading station for airplanes, comprising a platform raisedabove the level of the ground and including form except from a point remote from the aforesaid edge and devices included in said enclosing means associated with said edge of the platform, adapted to swing outamidship section of the airplane fuselage.

ANTHONY H G. FOKKER.

a housing for passengers, means on the ground in laterally spaced relation toone edge of the platform to guide an airplane to a position which it shall assume relative to said platform for embarking and disembarking passengers, enclosing means for said platform to prevent ingress to and egress from said platform except from 'a point remote from the aforesaid edge, portions of said enclosing means abutting upon said edge being adapted to swing outwardly from said platform to a point in close proximity to the side of an airplane at rest before said platform, said portions preventing movement of passengers toward the fore and aftportions of the airplane.

6. A loading and unloading station for airplanes comprising a platform slightly raised from the ground level and including a housing for passengers, means on the ground in laterally spaced relation-to one edge of said platform to guide an airplane to a position before said platform for embarking and disembarking passengers, en-

closingmeans for said platform to normally prevent movement to and from said plat- 

